vi INTRODUCTION.
at Puri and Bhubaneswar where as many as 239 pieces have been?
counted in the Puri Gunduchibari temple alone.
I believe that the theory of forging small blooms of wrought iron into entire beams and pillars is the real solution of the question how these beams and pillars could have been forged with hand labour. As regards the solution of the problem how! these pillars have so long withstood the rusting influence of wind and rain, my idea is that "low manganese with low sulphur and high phosphorus" in the composition of the iron has something to do with the "corrosion-resistance" capacity of wrought iron. I also suspect that the pillars and beams were originally painted. As regards the metallurgy of iron, wrought iron was produced in India by the direct process, i.e. directly from the ores in small blast furnaces without the intermediate production of cast iron, whilst the modern process may be called the indirect process, in which wrought iron is prepared from cast iron which is first formed in modern blast furnaces.
I have devoted considerable space to the consideration of the manufacture of Indian steel which was certainly the material from which the famous Damascus blades were manufactured. It will be seen that the crucible process of making cast-steel by means of cementation was really an Indian invention, and that it was not till the nineteenth century that Mr. Mushet re-discovered the process in Europe.
In conclusion, I should take this opportunity of thanking Dr. Spooner, Superintendent of the Archaeological Department, Indian Museum, Calcutta, for his permission to take photographs of the Budh-Gaya iron clamps, and Dr. J. H. Marshal, Director of the Archaeological Department, Government of India, for his permission to reproduce the plates from the Reports of the Archeological Survey of India. I am also indebted to the publishers of the Empress for their loan of the blocks of the Bijapur Guns for use in this paper. Mahamahopadhyay Dr. Satish Chandra Vidyabhushan, Principal of the Sanskrit College, Calcutta, placed every facility at my disposal, enabling me to study Vedic literature on the subject in the library of the College. I should also state that I was not aware of Sir Robert Hadfield's ex- cellent papers on "Singhalese Iron and Steel of ancient Origin
